Haris Rauf eyes Test debut after cementing place in Pakistan's white-ball squad

Lahore Qalandars has unearthed two of the most talented pacers Pakistan cricket currently has; Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf. Ever since making their debuts for the franchise, both players have gone on to represent Pakistan on the international stage.

Haris Rauf became part of Big Bash League (BBL) season 11 and linked up with Melbourne Stars, a franchise which he has also represented in the past, and he took 9 wickets in 5 matches.

Speaking about his experience and his fan following in Australia, Haris said:

“Since I had already featured in the BBL beforehand as well, I was aware of the conditions and the pitches. The team was happy with the performances and that is always my aim.”

One of Haris’ celebrations became viral after he took a wicket in the BBL; Haris pulled out a mask out of his pocket and pretended to be sanitizing his hands.

“There were a lot of cases in Australia at that time and positive cases were also popping up in the BBL franchise camps as well. It just hit me to celebrate in a manner which would spread awareness so the people can also start being more vigilant.”

Haris has quickly made a name for himself after bursting onto the scene after being selected from Lahore Qalandars’ trials. He captured the attention through his extreme pace, something which has become a key feature of his game.

Speaking about his pace, Haris said that he aims to focus more on pace, line and length as opposed to focusing on swing.

“Pace matters a lot and since I started playing cricket, I have always bowled quick. This is something that I have carried forward and I try to bowl with the same speed every match. I try to focus more on line and length,” said Haris.

Lahore Qalandars is led by Shaheen Afridi in HBL PSL 7 and Haris believes this will prove to be a huge learning curve for his fellow pacer.

“Since this will be a new learning curve for him [Shaheen Afridi], I expect him to handle things well since he is extremely mature as he is already representing Pakistan at the highest level as well. He set up the training camp and communicated with the player before the PSL began which shows that he is up for the challenge and understands the importance of communication which is a good thing,” explained Haris.

“I am confident that Shaheen will help Lahore Qalandars win the HBL PSL 7,” added the young pacer.

The youngster previously expressed his desire to play red-ball cricket for Pakistan and become a constant part of the Test squad as well.

“Every player has a dream to represent their country across all three formats but I want to turn this into reality through my performances. I want to play Test cricket, I delivered some good performances in four-day matches and I will continue to do so until I am selected based on merit and performances,” explained Haris.